Is the NSA debate welcome?

6:23 PM,
Jun. 14, 2013

Written by

USA Today
Guest editorial

When news broke last week that the government has been collecting the phone records of millions of Americans, President Barack Obama said he "welcome(s) the debate" over whether his administration has struck the right balance between national security and privacy.

That's questionable. If Obama really wanted this debate, he could have begun it when he first took office and learned in detail what has been going on in the name of keeping Americans safe from terrorists. Instead, the administration has worked to keep citizens in the dark for four-and-a-half years, and members of Congress have ...